Sony delays PlayStation game over Qur'an lyrics
Sony's LittleBigPlanet had background music track with Arabic expressions from the Muslim holy bookElizabeth Stewart and agencies guardian.co.uk, Monday October 20 2008 11.06 BST larger | smaller Article historyThe release of a video game has been delayed amid fears that lyrics in a song for the background music could offend Muslims.

Sony's LittleBigPlanet (LBP) was held back after it was discovered that one of the background music tracks to the game included expressions from the Qur'an.

Sony is recalling all copies of LBP that had been sent to retailers and is manufacturing new discs of the PlayStation 3 blockbuster, removing the music track by the Mali-born singer Toumani Diabate.

A statement on the Sony PlayStation website explained the reason for the product recall was due to two expressions that can be found in the Qur'an.

"We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offence this may have caused," the statement read.

The British-created game features a rag doll hero called Sackboy. Players can customise the toy and then control it to run and jump through a world designed to appeal to all ages.

A post on the official PlayStation forum from a gaming enthusiast identifying himself as Yasser explained that the offending musical track was in the first level of the third world in the game. The level is known as Swinging Safari.

The track featured Arabic words from the Qur'an translated as "Every soul shall have the taste of death" and "All that is on earth will perish".

He went on to say that "we Muslims consider the mixing of music and words from our Holy Qur'an deeply offending" and said it was not the first time games had contained material offensive to Muslims.

The game was developed by Media Molecule, based in Guildford, Surrey. It allows players to design their own level in detail and share it with friends over the internet.

A statement on Media Molecule's website said it was "shellshocked and gutted" by the delay.

"We learnt â¦ that there is a lyric in one of the licensed tracks which some people may find offensive, and which slipped through the usual screening processes," it said.

"Obviously MM and Sony together took this very seriously. LBP should be enjoyable by all."

Sony delays PlayStation game over Qur'an lyrics
Sony's LittleBigPlanet had background music track with Arabic expressions from the Muslim holy bookElizabeth Stewart and agencies guardian.co.uk, Monday October 20 2008 11.06 BST larger | smaller Article historyThe release of a video game has been delayed amid fears that lyrics in a song for the background music could offend Muslims.

Sony's LittleBigPlanet (LBP) was held back after it was discovered that one of the background music tracks to the game included expressions from the Qur'an.

Sony is recalling all copies of LBP that had been sent to retailers and is manufacturing new discs of the PlayStation 3 blockbuster, removing the music track by the Mali-born singer Toumani Diabate.

A statement on the Sony PlayStation website explained the reason for the product recall was due to two expressions that can be found in the Qur'an.

"We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offence this may have caused," the statement read.

The British-created game features a rag doll hero called Sackboy. Players can customise the toy and then control it to run and jump through a world designed to appeal to all ages.

A post on the official PlayStation forum from a gaming enthusiast identifying himself as Yasser explained that the offending musical track was in the first level of the third world in the game. The level is known as Swinging Safari.

The track featured Arabic words from the Qur'an translated as "Every soul shall have the taste of death" and "All that is on earth will perish".

He went on to say that "we Muslims consider the mixing of music and words from our Holy Qur'an deeply offending" and said it was not the first time games had contained material offensive to Muslims.

The game was developed by Media Molecule, based in Guildford, Surrey. It allows players to design their own level in detail and share it with friends over the internet.

A statement on Media Molecule's website said it was "shellshocked and gutted" by the delay.

"We learnt â¦ that there is a lyric in one of the licensed tracks which some people may find offensive, and which slipped through the usual screening processes," it said.

"Obviously MM and Sony together took this very seriously. LBP should be enjoyable by all."

The release has been rescheduled for October 27.

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I take it that Muslims aren't allowed dictionaries then either

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Why is it that there is always someone who is offending Muslims. FFS get over it and stop being the victim. I don't see all the other faiths calling for this and that as it offends them. If you don't like it don't buy it or switch off, it's that simple. WAN**ERS

Never mind the Muslim aspect, why in a game rated for seven year olds, would you want song lyrics like "Every soul shall have the taste of death"?
When I was seven I played Buck-a-roo and Kerplunk. Oddly enough I don't remember there being any references to death.

If they can spot anything to p**s and moan about they will. Two lines of one song out of a whole friggin game. And my mrs wonders why i hate them. Just shut up and have a bacon sandwich or just f**k off.